Fireworks, food and Halloween moans

 Lovely bright sunshine but very cold out this morning, my fingers froze putting washing on the line.

We popped out for half an hour yesterday evening - quite an adventure for us as we almost never go out after dark nowadays 😂.  Butlins were having a firework display at 8 pm for half term so we decided to go and watch, we parked up in one of the supermarket car parks, a safe distance away but with a good view of the fireworks.  We took Betty with us - she's not keen on loud bangs nearby, but has got used to them more over the years and we guessed that being in the car with the windows closed, a fair distance away and having us with her would keep her calm.....it did.  In fact, after one quick glance round when the fireworks started, she then spent the rest of the time watching people coming and going in the supermarket, she really wasn't bothered by the fireworks.  It was a pretty good spectacle, lasting about 10 minutes.  That's our excitement for the week!

I've got a pan of soup on the go, during autumn I save and freeze all the stalks and cores of broccoli and cauliflower, when I've got a bagful I make soup with them.  I've added a diced potato for a bit of body, a veg stock cube and some dried herbs and black pepper, once all the veggies are soft I'll whizz it up with my stick blender.  I'll reheat it gently at lunchtime with some crumbled Stilton and a splash of cream, lovely with a crust of sourdough.  It'll do us for lunch today and tomorrow.

For dinner we're having a bacon and cabbage dish, with cheesy mashed potato and carrot.  I shall fry some strips of dry cured smoked streaky bacon with a couple of sliced leeks and shredded cabbage, adding a splash of water and olive oil, then putting the lid on the pan and leaving it to steam and cook slowly.  There'll be leftovers to freeze.

I saw a recipe on one of the cooking pages I follow on FB the other day - a Canadian lady called Marie Rayner who has a website called The English Kitchen, I do like her simple but tasty recipes.  The recipe was called French Onion Rice - it's rice (I'll use brown) cooked in homemade French Onion soup.  I thought it sounded delicious, I think it's meant as a side dish but I'll have it as a main - I'll stir through fried sliced mushrooms and serve with a sprinkle of snipped chives and grated Parmesan on top.  I'll do husband a couple of sausages or chicken thighs to go with his, that'll be tomorrow's dinner.

Hasn't Halloween stuff gone mad this year?  It never used to be celebrated much in this country.....now you can't get away from it, all the shops have Halloween window displays, there are pumpkins galore and tons of overpriced tat for sale.  Loads of kids (and adults) Halloween parties advertised on the local pages on FB, people going all out to decorate their front gardens with themed scary stuff.  Each to their own of course, but I'm not really a fan of things like this which are so hyped up by the shops to sell more (mainly useless) stuff which will then just get binned and add to the world's pollution problems.  And all those pumpkins going to waste once they've been carved and left out in front gardens to rot!  Husband's Christmas Grinch outlook must be rubbing off on me 😂😂😜

A whole 55 minutes to myself!

 This morning husband went to the gym again, he dropped me off in town (the gym is on the edge of town) so I could have a wander round the shops, he said he'd pick me up in 1 1/2 hours.  I had a lovely time mooching around on my own, got a new year calendar, a few art supplies and Christmas card making things in The Works and Smiths, popped in a couple of charity shops on the lookout for Christmas tree baubles but saw nothing to take my fancy - mostly Halloween stuff, I'll look again next week.  I'd just come out of one shop, intending to pop into a cafe for a quick coffee before looking in another 2 shops, but saw husband pull up in the car - he was over half an hour early - I felt cheated! 😂😒.  I've asked that he give me a bit longer next time, or else go in the car park and meet me in the cafe.  He doesn't wear a watch and didn't think to look at his phone, so said he didn't realise the time was so much less than planned.  Never mind, my little solo expedition was good while it lasted.

I got everything I needed in Aldi yesterday, the cupboards are now well stocked up.  We had a use-it-up dinner yesterday, a jacket potato each with a couple of leftovers from the freezer - some homemade ratatouille on top of the spud and some leftover smoked haddock kedgeree on the side....bit of an odd mixture but it tasted alright!

I've just made a big pan of bolognaise using a kilo of chicken mince - well, 750 g, the other 250 g I cooked with some veggies and rice for Betty, it made 2 meals for her.  I've used home grown leeks (we've still got plenty outside), red lentils, 2 tins chopped tomatoes and frozen peas to bulk out the bolognaise, we'll have some tonight with pasta and the rest will be frozen for future meals of cottage pies, chilli with rice and another bolognaise with spaghetti.  I've also made a peach sponge pudding, at husband's request. 

I've got all the dried fruit etc for the Christmas cake, I'll probably make that tomorrow.  I'll need to buy a small bottle of rum to feed the cake with.....husband likes whisky but I don't, I like brandy but he doesn't, and neither of us likes sherry, but we both quite like rum.  I say that, but the reality is neither of us drinks alcohol now, we haven't done for 3 or 4 years, but we do like the taste of it in a rich fruit cake.

The last weekend in November there are a few things going on in the town - the Christmas lights switch on, a Victorian street market and musical entertainments, the shops are having late night opening and there's a craft market at the steam railway station - and free parking in the town car parks!  So we'll probably go and have a look, it all sounds good.  Husband's a bit of a grouch when it comes to Christmas (very Bah Humbug) but he'll still take me as he knows I'll enjoy it.

Christmas was a bit of a non-event for us last year - not that we make a big deal out of it, we don't.  But as we'd only just moved in here, we were still either unpacking and sorting things out or collapsing in exhaustion!  As my lovely Mum died on Christmas Eve 2019 (blimey, where did that time go?!) and her Mum, my beloved Nanna, on Boxing Day many years ago, it's always a bit of a reflective time for me anyway.

BP, cooking, healthy eating, Strictly!

 Husband's lightheadedness only lasted a day, he was fine by early evening.  He's continued to take BP readings 2x daily and they've gone up slightly, this morning it was 117/73, so he's absolutely fine in that regard, nothing to worry about.  He went off to the gym this morning and did a light workout, overseen by the trainer.

Whilst he was out, I made dog food, 5 meals of white fish, tuna, veg and brown rice which she'll have every other day, with a high quality commercial raw frozen food on the inbetween days, and cheese scones for today's and tomorrow's lunches, along with a cuppa soup.  I've also done a shopping list for tomorrow, we're going to Aldi in Taunton, we go around every 6 weeks or so as it's a 40-mile round trip.

I want to go to the library this afternoon, I've only got one unread book left and have just discovered the print is so small I'll have difficulty reading it even with my glasses on.  When I picked it up in the library I only read the plot line on the back of the book, didn't bother looking inside, I obviously should have done.

Betty's new healthy food diet is obviously suiting her, she licks her dish clean every day, hasn't had anymore sicky episodes and has lost 2 kg in weight, which I'm pleased about as she was getting a bit chunky.  For the initial few days she was protesting about having less treats - she stands in front of me, staring at me, willing me to give her more, or stands in the kitchen staring up at the shelf where her treats are kept.  I kept telling her the mind melding wasn't working 😂 but felt a bit mean not giving in to her.  She's my darling little girl and I do love her to bits.

I thought there were some really good dances in Strictly on Saturday night, I particularly liked Montell & Johannes and Aljaz & Tasha's - all the costumes and makeup were brilliant too, Halloween week is always my favourite on Strictly.  Anton & Craig's Twins costumes were laugh-out-loud hilarious!  I hope Amy is going to be alright, it'll be such a shame if she's too unwell to come back, which means her partner JB will have to get used to another professional dancer.

A slow week, so batch cooking and some card painting

 When husband got up this morning he said he felt dizzy - he's often a bit lightheaded when first getting out of bed, so I didn't think much of it.  Later on he said he still felt dizzy, so I told him to take his blood pressure.....which he did, and then he promptly started panicking.  The reading was 100/63 - yes a bit on the low side, but actually completely normal for him.....he's always had BP on the low side anyway, but some of the heart meds he's now on lower it even further.  I got his medical notes up online and showed him that his last few BP checks at the surgery have all been similar readings, so there's nothing wrong with his BP currently.  After questioning him, I ascertained that he doesn't feel unwell at all, just a bit dizzy when he stands up and walks around - he doesn't feel nauseous or overtired.  I said perhaps he's coming down with something, although he says he feels fine.  He spent several hours yesterday sitting at his computer playing chess and sudoku, so it could even be that having his neck in a fixed position for so long has compressed a nerve.  He's just getting himself in a stew over nothing, I think.  I'll keep an eye on him today and if anything gets worse, then I'll ring 111.  I'll get him to take his BP twice daily for the next few days, and give the GP a ring later in the week, just to settle his mind.

He then said he was going to pop into town - he's run out of batteries for something or other.....I said he's not driving anywhere if he feels dizzy!  Silly man.  He's also saying he wants to go to the gym tomorrow morning.....I've told him we'll see what he's like in the morning, if he's ok then he can go (I'll go with him for a walk around town), but he's to ask one of the gym staff to take his BP first and be guided by them, they're all trained to deal with medical stuff, since they're the gym that takes GP referrals.

We had a lovely walk along the prom at Blue Anchor yesterday, with Betty, it was a beautiful sunny afternoon with just a little breeze.  It was quite busy, being the start of the school half term week, there were lots of fishermen (the high tide was just on its way out), and even some brave souls swimming (rather them than me).  The steam train was back and forth, so lots of chug-chugging sounds and the train whistles blowing - we can hear the steam train whistles from our house, which is one of the delights of living here.

I've done all the veggies and prepped the cauli cheese for dinner, husband's having a small pork joint and I'm having my homemade nut roast.  I think as we've got nothing much on the calendar this week, I'll do some batch cooking and baking, to fill up the freezer.  I might even make a Christmas cake - I no longer make one every year, but husband does love it (plain fruit cake, he doesn't like marzipan or icing) and even I like a small slice occasionally.

I bought some basic art supplies (for watercolour and acrylic painting) a few weeks back, but haven't yet got around to using them.  I've watched quite a few beginner's videos, I have an idea for some simple Christmas cards so I might get on with that this week.  I've got loads of blank cards, and everything else I might need, so no excuse really except lack of confidence.  But if I don't try, then I won't know if I can do it!  I just need to start....

More bulbs, and the worst smell ever

 I bought another pot (how naughty!), a round wide one, it's to go at the front of the house, I also got 3 cyclamen and a small conifer to go in it.  I shall be planting it up tomorrow and also putting some narcissi in it, for Spring colour.  One large pot in the back garden which held a tomato plant this year will be filled with mixed narcissi, it's right outside my bedroom window so that'll be a nice cheerful view when I open my curtains on Spring mornings.  And then that really is the last of the Spring bulb plantings! 😁 (but never say never 😉).

The new vet is lovely, a very kind and caring South African chap (coincidentally, the married couple vets we used for years when we lived in our last house were also South African) who was very good with Betty, despite her wailings (she hates going to the vet).  He said she has got the beginnings of an infection in one ear, but we've caught it early.  He said her anal glands were actually empty.....so the reason for her bum scooting behaviour could be either she needs worming (she doesn't, she had a worming tablet just a few weeks ago), or maybe just a pleasurable habit she's got into!  For Sue and Kath - some dogs empty their anal glands naturally when pooing, others have trouble with it and occasionally squeeze them out in the wrong places, or else need it doing manually.  Betty's twice emptied hers indoors (I'm grateful it's only been twice since we've had her), and I can promise you ladies, you never want to have to deal with that - it's like concentrated sticky liquid manure and is the worse smell you could possibly think of, it absolutely reeks.  Hence why we now ask the vet to do it a couple of times a year.  She had to have 2 medications and the price of those, along with the consultation fee, was a bit eye-watering.....husband complained about it for the rest of the afternoon 😒.  I did say that he should be thankful he doesn't have to pay for his own medical treatment, as he has to go to the GP or hospital a damn sight more often than Betty goes to the vets! 😉😂.  Vets have us pet owners over a barrel really, they know we'll pay more or less whatever it takes to get our pets better.  And insurance doesn't cover everything.

So the clocks go back tomorrow, an extra hour in bed, and it'll be lighter in the mornings for a while.  But only a short while.....it seems no time at all until it starts being still dark when we get up in the morning, and dark enough for the curtains to be closed before dinner in the evenings.  Which is one of the main reasons why I'm not a fan of winter - short days.  Still, we only have to wait until 21 December, the shortest day, before the days start getting longer again, albeit by only a few minutes a week at first.

We've had some lovely sunshine this week, albeit with some showers scattered throughout the day.  It's meant to be nice over the weekend too.

Husband and I cut my hair between us this morning, a combination of husband's beard trimmer with the largest size comb fitting, and scissors to trim the edges.  So now I look like I've been scalped, but I don't really mind as it's so much easier to wash and style (well, none basically 😂, I've never really been one for titivating my hair, apart from colouring it - and even that I no longer do).  And it grows quite quickly anyway, so it won't be the scalped look for long.  My hair is very like my Mum's - although Mum's 2 sisters and 1 brother all went white/silver, her hair just sort of faded in colour, which is just what mine is doing.  It couldn't really be described as grey, it's just sort of pale.  I occasionally put some temporary blue or pink highlights through it, just for the hell of it!

Neither husband nor I have any medical appointments for the next couple of weeks, in fact we've got nothing on the calendar at all, which is a rare occurrence.  What shall we do with ourselves and all this free time?!

Betty's bum! (and ears)

 I've just been outside planting up 2 more pots with Spring bulbs.....that's it now, I've run out of pots!  Actually, I've just realised there is one more.....I'd planted a hibiscus in it but it didn't do very well, I think it will do better planted in the ground, so that's what I'll do.....so another pot!  I think I might get some winter flowering heathers to brighten up the front of the house, it looks a bit bare now the geraniums and fuschias have finished.  I do like a bit of colour.  My one dahlia in the back garden is still flowering really well, it's got gorgeous bright pink flowers streaked with white.  I'll have some more dahlias next year, they give so much colour at the end of summer and into autumn, when other things are dying off.

We're taking Betty to the new vet this afternoon, she's having trouble with her ears again so is most likely brewing another infection.  She also needs her anal glands emptying - our previous friendly vet who we were with for years did suggest, laughing, that we could do it ourselves.....not blimmin likely, it's messy and stinks to high heaven 😱.  Betty seems to be thriving on the new healthy diet I'm giving her, I think she's lost a little bit of weight (we'll find out at the vets) which is good as she was very chunky before.  She still is chunky, but that's her natural appearance, chunky and solid.  She's just had a zoomy, whizzing around the lounge, hall and my bedroom, leaping on and off the bed, her tail tucked between her legs and bottom held low, very funny to watch.  Now she's flat out on the bed, having burned off that excess energy.  She's having white fish tonight, I cooked then flaked it and mixed it with a little canned tuna in oil, grated raw carrot, some mashed cooked sweet potato and a spoonful of cooked brown rice, she loves it and licks her dish clean.

Husband's having a chicken breast wrapped in bacon, I've got a small cod steak in parsley sauce, we'll have half a jacket potato each and a pile of green veggies.  I've had no bread and very few starchy carbs this week and am feeling the benefits already, the puffy face and bloated stomach are going down and my joints are aching less.  I'm also peeing for England! (you really wanted to know that, didn't you?! 😂).

Husband enjoyed his gym session yesterday, I'd told him to take it easy as he hadn't been for several weeks since his GP referral course ended.  He says starting next week he wants to go 3 times a week, which will do him good.  I'll take the opportunity on one of those days to be dropped off in town, so I can have a mooch around the shops by myself, a rare treat without him breathing down my neck, exclaiming at all the prices and asking "Are you finished yet?" every 5 minutes.

I did the banking yesterday, made out a new budget starting from next month and including regular payments into 2 savings accounts, we're going to be so much better off now we've got rid of the caravan.  I've made out a list of things I want to buy for the house and garden, it'll be so satisfying crossing them off each time we've got one.

Thanks for the recommendation! And healthy eating for both of us

 Another nice sunny, slightly breezy day, with the odd chance of a little shower....so washing is going on the line, I don't think the showers are enough to worry about.

Yellow Shoes, thanks so much for the rowan/mountain ash recommendation, I'd not even thought about one of those, even though they're very common.  I looked them up, they stay fairly small - certainly small enough for our garden - need no (or very little) pruning, have clusters of gorgeous small white flowers in Spring and berries in the Autumn.  I particularly like the look of one called Sorbus Eastern Promise - it has lovely pink berries, very attractive to birds, and wonderful colours of foliage in the autumn.  It'll provide dappled shade and some privacy in the corner of the garden where the patio and table/chairs are - we're a bit overlooked by neighbouring houses in that corner.  So that's settled, a Sorbus Eastern Promise it will be - thank you!  I know it sheds leaves, but that's in winter when we're not sitting out there, whereas the yucky yucca (which doesn't look particularly healthy) chucks its long brown dead leaves with gay abandon all over the patio and table any time it feels like it.  Thanks for the warning about the shoots, K - we'll look out for those, I doubt husband or I will be strong enough to dig out the stump....we may have to resort to a liquid stump killer.

I've just done a freezer inventory and will be doing a menu plan today.  Husband weighed himself a couple of days ago and was disgruntled to find he's the heaviest he's ever been.  I can't say I'm surprised, he's always had a huge appetite - whereas mine has diminished with age, his hasn't.  We do eat mostly healthy meals, but our carb intake has risen lately and I know that bloats me.  The problem with husband is that he is always snacking between meals, he's nipping into the kitchen and munching all day....not because he's hungry per se, it's just an ingrained habit I think.  My snack weakness is crisps, I could happily eat 2 or 3 bags at a time - so I just don't buy them.  Husband's is nuts, seeds and mixed fruit - his excuse is always "well, they're healthy"!  Well yes they are, but they're also very high in calories and fat.  And he'll eat handfuls of them at a time.  I only buy small amounts of dried fruit, mixed seeds, almonds and walnuts for use in meals or cooking - the walnuts I hide at the back of the baking cupboard as husband will eat them if he sees them, they're his favourite.  But whereas I purposely don't buy crisps, husband will buy his own nuts and dried fruit - a couple of weeks ago I went to the library, leaving husband sitting in the car outside.  Except he took the opportunity to go to the Grape Tree shop down the road and bought himself a carrier bag full of nuts, seeds and dried fruit.  I think I'll try portioning them up and telling him he can have a measured portion each day and no more.  Whether he'll go along with that remains to be seen.  

He's far less active now, which means he doesn't need as many calories.  Having said that, he rejoined the gym yesterday (I think weighing himself shocked him into it).  He'd finished his GP-referral gym course a couple of months ago but hadn't bothered going since, now he says he'll go 2 or 3 times a week.  I hope he does, I'll certainly encourage him to, he's going tomorrow.

I shall plan meals with meat for him and fish for me, with the bulk of the plate made up with lots of green veggies, with the carby brown rice, pasta or potatoes perhaps 2 or 3 days a week.  We went to the freezer shop yesterday and I stocked up with loads of veggies.  Frozen Brussels sprouts I've found are actually quite nice just chucked on a tray with a sprinkle of oil and roasted from frozen, they get all caramelised and crispy round the edges and taste lovely.  Frozen cauli and broccoli are nice cooked then mashed with a little butter and some herbs.  We like fresh cauli cut in thick slices and roasted.

Garden, birthday and holiday plans

 The garden is mostly ready for winter now, all that's left to do is for me to trim and tidy up my tin bath herb garden that was an anniversary gift from my sister, and 3 pots at the front of the house to be emptied of geraniums and refilled with Spring bulbs.  Oh, and 3 or 4 bags of compost to be bought and spread over the lightly forked emptied beds.  We've begun discussing plans for next year - nothing definite as yet, just mulling over ideas for the garden - whatever we do, it has to be low/easy maintenance.  We're thinking about getting rid of the big 10 or 12 feet tall yucca tree in the corner of the garden beside the patio.  I really don't like it, it's not in the best of health....it looks scruffy, the long pointy leaves are always going brown and being shed liberally all over the patio and table & chairs, along with dropping seeds everywhere.  And it provides no shade, in a part of the garden that gets all the afternoon sun and really needs some shade over the patio table and chairs.  We'll need some help from a younger, fitter and healthier friend or relative, husband and I can't cut it down by ourselves.  It's a job to think about over the winter, we're not totally decided yet.  If we do get rid of it, I'll want to replace it with a small tree, one that will provide shade, won't drop leaves everywhere and will need little maintenance.  If anybody has any ideas for a suitable tree, please let me know.

It was chucking it down with rain and very windy here early this morning, it's only just calmed down.  Things have been blown around the garden, but no damage - I'm guessing it'll be much worse up north, we do generally get off very lightly here.

I'm making a lasagne using chicken mince today, as a change from the usual roast, and an apple crumble for pud.  I'll have the pud just for today, then husband can finish it over the next couple of days....I don't very often eat puddings.  I've been thinking about a meal for my birthday....decided I don't really want to go out for a meal, I'm often not very impressed by the vegetarian options, nor do I want chips with everything.  Even the fish options are generally quite limited.  So I might just buy something I really like and cook it myself at home - at least I'll know I'll enjoy it and won't be wondering what's in it.  Maybe king prawns, lightly cooked and in a lemon mayo, with new potatoes and salad.  Then some nice cheese and crackers to follow, and some good dark chocolate with a coffee.

I've started looking at a few holiday cottages for next year, dog friendly ones of course.  It's been several years now since we last had a cottage holiday, and prices have risen substantially since then, even for out of season breaks - the price for May or September, say, now seems to be as high as we would have paid a few years ago for a high season break.  Not that we ever went in high season - far too crowded for our liking.  I'll keep looking, there's no rush, I'm sure I'll find somewhere suitable eventually.  It'll be not too far away, probably the neighbouring counties of Devon, Wiltshire or Dorset, or even this county - somewhere not too far for husband to drive.  We've certainly been spoilt by having the caravan, although we still don't regret giving it up.

Enthusiasm mustered. And where's the year gone?

 We worked in the garden for an hour and a half yesterday morning, it was pleasantly warm and mostly sunny.  I cut back several roses - all of them were here in the garden already, massively overgrown and leggy and bare at the bottom, so back in early Spring I'd cut them all right back down to the base, almost.  I had doubts as to whether they'd survive, but they all did and in fact grew back amazingly well, 4 or 5 feet high, healthy and lots of flowers, they've been a joy.  I cut them back by about a third yesterday, and took out any spindly weak or crossing stems, I'll prune them back even more in early Spring.  Then I helped husband with the weeding and pulling up spent annuals, and emptied a couple of pots.  That was enough for us for one day.  Today I'll finish off the weeding and getting rid of the remaining few dying annuals, husband has a massive hebe shrub and huge bay to cut back with his hedge trimmer, and Betty's little lawn to mow.  We'll need to go to the tip, we'll have several bags of prunings and dead plants to get rid of (our 2 compost bins are almost full).

Heather, the holiday park cafe is our favourite, bit pricy (tourist prices!) but lovely cakes and decent coffee.  We sit outside when the weather's good enough, for the nice view over the Bristol channel to Wales.

K, I know what you mean about not seeing what's on your own doorstep - when we lived in West London (where we're both from) we almost never went into the city, despite it being an easy and quick train ride.  And when our friends from Kent came to stay here in our village earlier this year, they visited places we'd never been, or even heard of!  Admittedly, they do like visiting everywhere when on hols, and are very keen geocachers, so they get about much more than we do.  Jackie, you mentioned how nice it'll be to walk along the prom without tourists - well, it would be nice, except there are always tourists all year round here, although not nearly as many in winter, of course.  The out of season tourists tend to be older people rather than young families or hen/stag parties, which makes it quieter.

Lovely sunny day again, so I'm putting washing on the line and we'll be out in the garden for several hours.  Tomorrow morning doesn't look good, heavy rain and strong winds due to Storm Ashley, but by the afternoon it's forecast to be sunny again, although still rather windy.  The worst of the storm looks to be over Ireland and further north of England and Scotland - we're getting off quite lightly.  Stay warm and safe, everyone.

Both my laptop and phone are playing up - I blimmin hate technology.  I think (for all I know!! 😂) it may be a battery problem - my laptop will only work if I have the charger plugged in, it seems to charge ok (it's a new charger, the old one was knackered) but then switches itself off soon after I've taken the charger out, even though the battery symbol shows as 100% charged.   My phone suddenly goes blank sometimes when I'm reading something on it, for no apparent reason, then comes back on again a minute or 2 later - what's that all about? 🤷 ❓

It'll soon be Bonfire night - we weren't here until just before Christmas last year so I've no idea if there'll be fireworks nearby.....maybe at Butlins, but we won't really hear them here.  Betty doesn't like fireworks - well, the noise of them, it puts her on high alert.  We try to have the TV or radio (what am I saying, it's always the TV!! 😂😒) on fairly loud, and keep her distracted with games or something to chew.  This year seems to have flown by, Bonfire night, Christmas and then the new year all seem to have come before their time!

Mustering enthusiasm

 Thank you for your comments, you lovely lot.

I've been lacking in enthusiasm the past few days, hence why no blog yesterday - nothing to write about as I hadn't done anything much!  It's a sunny start, although rain is forecast this afternoon.  We really must get on with the garden tidy today, I've been saying it for days but haven't mustered up the energy.  Today is the day! (she says, trying to gee herself up).  Husband will pull up all the dead and dying annuals and cut back the ivy growing on the fence, while I prune the roses and overgrown shrubs, empty the last few geranium pots and refill with more Spring bulbs.

We've come to the conclusion that the soil here is very poor, no doubt as a result of being totally neglected the past few years - the previous tenant was very unwell for a long time before she died 18 months or so ago and nothing got done in the garden.  So we're going to lightly fork over the soil in the beds and then cover them over with a thick layer of compost - we won't dig it in (digging is too much like hard work nowadays for both of us) but just leave it for the worms and frosty weather to sort out over winter.  Our own homemade compost won't be ready until next year, so we'll buy in a few more bags next week.  I'm still undecided over what to do with the two small gravel beds in the corner beside the patio - something definitely needs to be done there, the gravel is banked up and falls down onto the patio, the previous wooden edging there has rotted.  We'll probably get rid of the gravel, which I really don't like, add more fresh compost and make them into flower beds, with a new edging to keep the soil off the patio.  I might put roses there, I don't know yet.....we've got all winter to think about it.

We want to start taking regular walks along the promenade in Minehead or Blue Anchor bay, we've hardly done it really since we've lived here - it's generally too busy in the summer season anyway, with 100s of tourists from the huge Butlins or the many caravan parks in the area.  Butlins is open all year round of course, but it's quieter now, especially during the week.  As long as it's dry with hopefully a bit of sunshine it'll be fine, we'll just wrap up warmly - Betty needs the exercise as much as us.  I'm glad there's a lovely long promenade in both places, walking on the beach is too difficult for me now - the unevenness of the sand and rocks hurts my hip and back and I feel very unsteady.

A good day forecast tomorrow as well, so what we don't finish in the garden this morning we can do tomorrow.  Sunday will be rain all day, apparently.

A welcome and (another) explanation

 Morning all, thank you for comments, they're all appreciated.  So much for the forecast 3 hours of sunshine over lunchtime yesterday - more like 20 minutes.  It was misty and drizzly virtually all day, even when it wasn't actually spitting, the air felt damp, so I didn't bother putting my coverless duvet on the line.  It stayed indoors draped over the clothes airer in front of the radiator in the hall, it took all day to dry.  I'm sure though that on a sunny, warm, possibly slightly breezy day, it would dry pretty quickly out on the line.  Today rain is forecast all day, so not a washing day!  Tomorrow looks much better, so hopefully I'll be able to get more washing done and outside, including husband's duvet.

I had a lovely comment from a new reader yesterday....well actually not new, she's apparently been a reader for a while but hasn't been able to comment before.  Welcome Yellow Shoes, and I'm sorry about the not commenting thing - I have problems myself sometimes, both Google and Blogger seem to be a law unto themselves.  Comments from longstanding readers often go into spam, and I've noticed comments I've made on other blogs sometimes don't appear, so I'm guessing they've gone into their spam.  Unless the blogger has deleted them! 😂😂

YS, you mentioned that I tell it like it is and am honest about our ups and downs.  Well yes, what you see is what you get with me, I see no point in sugar-coating things - what would be the point?  Ultimately, people will see through you and you're deluding yourself as well as others.  However, having said that, and as I mentioned before....I'm no longer giving personal details of any ups and downs, or mentioning my feelings and aggravations.  I'm not putting up with people who think they can insult me, have a go at me for what THEY think I'm doing wrong, or just be downright rude and obnoxious - particularly when they don't even know me!  As I've said before, none of you live here with husband and I, you don't walk in our shoes, you're not a fly on my wall, and 95% of you don't know me, having never met me or husband.  It's easy to say just ignore them, they're not worth it, they've clearly got sad little lives, whatever.  But the truth is, although I don't publish the comments, I do have to read at least part of them in order to decide whether or not to publish them.  And if I've had a particularly bad day (or days) and am feeling very stressed and low in spirits, then nasty comments destroy me, pretty much.  And if you're the kind of person who takes pleasure in that, then I feel sorry for you.

I used to use this blog as a means of getting things off my chest - if something is bothering me, it'll just fester until and unless I can let it out, and once I've done so, I feel much better.  But not anymore - all that stuff stays off my blog.  So all I'm writing about now is very mundane, probably boring stuff!  So apologies to my regular, lovely, kind and thoughtful readers for not giving you the warts and all things now - there will still be warts and all in my life I'm sure (there has been for the past week!) but I won't be writing about it.  Yellow Shoes (and anyone else for that matter), if you now decide there's nothing here to interest you and decide to unfollow me - I shall miss you but I fully understand! 🤗🤗

As the weather is crap today, I shall make a chicken casserole in the slow cooker, and probably make a couple of dumplings as well - comfort food.  Other than that, it'll be a little bit of necessary housework, then reading and/or crocheting in my room with the radio on.  I fancy a couple of soft boiled eggs for lunch - ooh, how exciting!  😂😂 (just a bit of gentle sarcasm, hope you don't mind!).

Coverless duvets, and picky eaters

 Husband and I loathe changing the duvet covers, we both struggle with it, so when a friend mentioned coverless duvets a few weeks back (I'd not heard of them), I did some googling.  Seems they're just duvets with a fixed cover, it's stitched through in a quilted fashion, just like a homemade quilt....you wash the whole thing.  So I promptly got us one each, we've had them on the bed for just over a week now.  Wow, they're lovely, so soft, warm and snuggly, and being able to just throw it on the bed without struggling to put the cover on first is brilliant.  Yesterday, the forecast for today was for a good mostly dry day, with sunny spells and a breeze - perfect drying weather, so I thought.  I was up early this morning, dragged the duvet off my bed and shoved it in the washing machine - it was a bit of a struggle, it's a king size 10.5 tog - my machine is an 8kg wash load, no idea what the duvet actually weighs.  Anyway, I pushed and shoved it in (it was a good workout!) and washed it, it seems to wash perfectly well, the filling hasn't moved.  Unfortunately, though, it's misty and drizzling outside, so as yet no chance of getting the duvet on the washing line.  So much for good drying weather!  In fact, looking at the forecast now, there's only about 3 hours of dry weather over lunchtime, before it starts raining.  The duvet is currently draped over the washing airer, in front of the radiator in the hallway....I'm hoping I'll be able to get it out on the line for a couple of hours.  After that I'll have to put it in the airing cupboard, and hope it dries sufficiently to get it back on my bed tonight.  I'll wash husband's one, which is a double not a K/S (he's got a smaller bed) on Thursday probably, which is the next dry day (allegedly).  Meanwhile, I've ordered 2 more for us, they're coming tomorrow.....I've bought 7.5 tog this time as they'll be easier to get in the washing machine - we can always have a fleece blanket on top if we're cold.  I always have a blanket on my bed anyhow, because Betty's always on it and sheds hairs with gay abandon - I throw it over on her side of the bed when I get in, I don't need it on my side through the night.  Do any of you have coverless duvets?

I'm in the kitchen this morning - I've just boiled a panful of potatoes, some I'll just add butter and S&P to and mash for husband to have with his lamb chop tonight.  The rest I'm going to mash with grated cheese and chives stirred through.....some I'll have tonight, the rest will be frozen.  I'm also making a big pan of ratatouille for me to have with the mash, and again freeze the rest.  I've microwaved a sweet potato and a couple of white fish fillets for Betty's food - sweet potato mashed, fish flaked, a grated carrot, half a small tin of tuna in oil and a little cooked brown rice all mixed in, that'll make 3 or 4 meals for Betty.

Annabeth, you asked if Betty might like chunks of raw carrot for a bit of crunch?  No - she'll eat grated carrot mixed in with her food, but not raw chunks of it - she turns her nose up and walks away.  She is a bit of a picky eater sometimes....fairly unusual for dogs, it's normally cats who are picky eaters.  She also dislikes peas - if they're in any commercial food I give her, she'll eat round them and leave them on the dish 😂.  I guess we all have our likes and dislikes - even animals!  She's not really a fan of any raw veggies, although does eat cooked broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauli, squash or sweet potato, providing they're mashed up and mixed in with some form of protein.  She'll happily eat bits of banana or pear as a snack - she doesn't like apples though!

I'll also make an apple cake, I've got a couple of cooking apples that need using up.

We had our covid jabs yesterday morning at the little local hospital - busy but it only took a few minutes, well organised as it always is.  No reaction for either of us, not even a sore arm.  I wonder why the flu jab produced more of a reaction......I'd have thought it was more likely to be the covid one to make us feel a bit rough.

Betty's healthy diet, covid jabs and a gardening week (hopefully)

 Betty still seems fine, I'm being extremely careful in what I give her to eat.  I've also changed her from 1 large meal (in the evenings) and some treats twice a day, to 2 small meals (morning and evening) and a bit of banana or pear for a treat midday.  She has a choice of (well, I say choice, I don't actually ask her what she wants! 😂) scrambled egg, microwaved white fish, a little canned tuna in oil, or freshly cooked minced chicken, with some cooked sweet potato and rice and a splash of salmon oil mixed in with the proteins.  Husband says she eats better than he does! (he eats equally as well, I might add).  I've been to the pet shop this morning to buy some frozen high quality food which is just meat or fish with added vegetables and some vitamins & minerals, and nothing else in it, just to make sure she has all the nutrients she needs, she'll have that once or twice a week.  She's had this frozen food before and likes it, in fact she licks the plate clean.  It's a bit on the costly side, but since I'm not buying lots of dog treats now, it evens the cost out.  A couple of times a week I'll give her a top quality dental chew or antler, for a bit of crunch and to help her teeth/gums.

We've had our covid jabs this morning, I'm hoping we'll have little or no reaction to them.....we haven't had any particular reaction before, as far as I remember.  We're having an easy meal tonight, just in case I feel a bit under the weather later - homemade potato dauphinoise, already made and out of the freezer, with salmon steaks that I'll foil cook in the oven, and peas.  Husband has requested a lamb leg steak out of the freezer, with mash, veg and onion gravy for tomorrow (I said he eats as well as the dog!).  I'll have cheesy mash with homemade ratatouille, I think.

I had to get up in the night for a wee and to take some paracetamol for a headache, it struck me just how many lights are on in the house at night.  Not ceiling lights or lamps - the little green, red or blue lights on appliances or techy stuff, sockets and smoke alarms, little glowing lights everywhere.  No need to put any lamps on!

Betty is currently throwing her bed around having a mad 5 minutes, so she's clearly feeling happy!

Little monkey.  I like to see her enjoying herself and letting off a bit of steam.

Very mixed weather forecast this week, it'll be a case of picking and choosing when to do washing and having to keep an eye on it outside.  Bit chilly today but supposed to be warmer (and wetter) later in the week.  Tomorrow looks a good day for washing on the line.

Nothing on the calendar for the rest of the week....no medical appointments for either of us, for a change.  I've bought some more Spring bulbs (naughty!) so have those to plant out.  In between showers (I'm a fair weather gardener) I'll cut back the roses a bit and pull up the dead and dying annuals.  

Betty unwell again and blogs missing

 We've had a very quiet weekend so far, Betty's been unwell, she was sick a couple of times Friday evening (oddly enough it was also a Friday evening a couple of weeks ago when she was last sick).  She was quiet and listless yesterday, just seeming to want to sleep mainly.  I laid on the bed with her a couple of times, she kept resting her head on my left arm whilst placing her front paw on my right arm and gazing into my eyes.  It's unusual for her, she's not a particularly cuddly dog and is often quite aloof - a typical Shar Pei (she's half Shar Pei, her mother being a full SP, and half English Bulldog, which is her father, a big muscly broad-chested Bulldog).  She definitely takes after her mother more, she looks exactly like her, other than being a bit taller, broader and heavier.  She wasn't listless all the time, she had some short periods of seeming more like her usual self, brighter and interested in noises outside, etc.  She wasn't particularly hungry, although did eat a small amount of cooked chicken  and a scrambled egg.  She was drinking as normal, along with weeing and pooing so, although I kept a close eye on her, I wasn't too concerned.  If it happens again anytime soon though, we'll take her to the new vets.  Whatever it was, she seems fine again now and has happily eaten breakfast.

Husband's nerve tests on his feet went well, the technician also did some on his hands (husband had an operation for carpal tunnel syndrome in his wrist a few years ago so the tech thought it was prudent).  The results will be sent to our GP in a couple of weeks.  The technician was a lovely chatty friendly Indian guy - I only mention his nationality as he himself mentioned it, saying that as he was Indian-born and had only lived here a few years, he still hadn't got used to how cold it is here in comparison to his home country - he was wearing several layers of clothing, including long johns under his trousers (he showed us, pulling up his trouser leg!) and a thick fleece jacket.  In fairness, it was quite chilly on Friday, despite being sunny.

I stocked up on everything I wanted in Aldi, the shop was nearly empty of customers, just how I like it.  And neither of us bought anything in the middle aisles!  I'll just need to get some milk and fresh veg and fruit at the end of the week and that'll be it for shopping this month, hopefully.  The low spend for this month is going fairly well, no big expenditures as yet.....oh and I had an email from our water company with the 6-monthly bill, saying they'll be paying our current credit balance back into our bank account - without me even asking them, which is nice.  So that's a bit extra for savings.

I don't know what's up with Blogger, but have noticed that a few of the blogs I follow which are in my favourite blogs list and who normally post daily, are not appearing on my daily Reading List, although they're still listed on the 'Manage blogs I'm following' page on my dashboard.  Has this happened to anyone else?  And any ideas how to fix it?

I missed it!

 My arm is fine now, only a mild bit of soreness at the jab site and the redness has gone, and I slept like a log last night.  Jane, I've never heard that theory that a strong reaction means the jab has 'taken' well - maybe it's true!  Although, having said that, I did actually have flu last winter, despite having had the jab - but of course the jab only protects against the strains that the scientists think will prevail that year, and there are loads of variants, so I guess I had a different strain.  

Did anyone see the Aurora Borealis last night?  According to posts on FB from our local page, it was clearly visible even down here, loads of photos of lovely red, purple and green skies. What a pity I missed it, I was so tired I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.  Wonder if it'll be visible again tonight?

It's a beautiful bright sunshiny morning but is really cold - putting the washing on the line just now, my fingers quickly got frozen and I was breathing out cloudy vapours....or whatever it is!  Betty came out with me (she's my shadow more and more lately, follows me everywhere) but it was even too cold for her with her thick coat and she quickly ran back indoors.

Husband has his nerve tests in his feet today at the big hospital in Taunton, so we've decided to go to Aldi as well - makes sense to do it today when we're in Taunton anyway, rather than making a special trip on Monday, as was my original plan.  Husband's feet have been a problem for years.....3 or 4 years ago he had an operation to - I think, I can't remember the details - do something about the tendons and/or ligaments, he had some pins put in as well.  The tendons had got very tight, apparently due partly to years of wearing big steel toe capped boots for work, and partly down to jumping out of lorries rather than climbing down.  In the past couple of years he's had pins and needles in his feet almost constantly, which the doctors now think is possibly due to diabetic neuropathy.  Isn't it odd - he's only borderline diabetic and was only diagnosed about 4 or 5 years ago, and already has some diabetic retinopathy in his eyes, as well as the possible neuropathy in his feet, whereas I've been diabetic for 12 years and have no such damage.  In fact, I had a results letter yesterday following my recent diabetic eye screening which said that as I've had no signs of retinopathy, I no longer have to go annually for tests.

For the first time in years - or ever, really, come to think of it - I'm not dreading winter like I usually do.  I guess it's because I'm so much happier now, in our lovely little bungalow.  Moving here was one of the best things ever, I continually feel blessed.  As does husband, albeit more grumpily!

A restful day for a sore arm

 Apparently Hurricane Milton had downgraded by the time it reached land last night - still caused death and destruction though, some from loads of tornadoes.  Terrifying.  I hope Brenda and family are safe and have homes to go back to, when they're allowed - how scary and unsettling to think that your home might have gone, just gone.  But as long as you're all safe and well, that's all that matters.  We're so fortunate living here, in more ways than one.

I've been having flu jabs (and all the covid ones) for years now, due to my diabetes and being husband's carer (he has all the jabs too, obviously).  Neither of us has ever really had much of a reaction to any of them, other than a slightly sore arm and some tiredness.  Following my flu jab on Tuesday, I was absolutely fine all day yesterday.....come the evening, however, I felt really tired and the top of my arm was beginning to be quite sore.  I went to bed early (9 pm ish) but just couldn't get to sleep at all, I felt  feverish and uncomfortable and my arm was so sore I couldn't lie on that side.  Finally dropped off around 02.30, only to be woken up by Betty jumping off my bed and messing around on her bed in my room - she was having a mad 5 minutes, tossing her cushion around and snorting - she snorts when she gets excited.  I managed to drop back off to sleep when she finally settled down on her own bed, but slept very fitfully, waking up several times feeling sweaty, restless and uncomfortable, with my arm hurting like hell.  This morning the injection site feels very sore indeed, is a bit swollen and feels very hard, I was also surprised to see it's quite red for about an inch or two around the injection site.  When I checked on the internet for flu jab reactions, it seems all of the above are fairly normal things, so I'm not worried about it, I dare say it'll wear off in a day or two.  What's a sore arm though in the grand scheme of things?

We don't have to go anywhere today, I don't have to cook dinner as we're having some more of the big slow cooker hotpot I made yesterday, there's nothing much in the way of housework that needs doing (or that can't wait a couple of days), so I'm having a day of rest.  Husband is already snoring in his armchair (despite flatly denying he constantly falls asleep) and Betty is asleep on my bed, so looks like we're all having a restful day!  I'll read and do some crocheting, and maybe have a snooze this afternoon.

The weather looks reasonable for the next few days, so I'm hoping (planning) to get out in the garden and do a final tidy up for winter.  I want to write a shopping list for Monday, we'll be going to Aldi (the nearest one is Taunton way), I go every few weeks to stock up on some of their products I really like....such as their own brand frothy coffees, they taste much the same as the big brand name one but are half the price.  I also like their frozen lemon & herb dusted fish fillets and posh rice packets, and get a 6-pack of 2 litre bottled water.  My conscience is pricked a bit about the plastic bottles, but I drink a lot of water and really don't like our tap water here.....I justify it slightly by giving Betty the empty bottles to play with, she adores a plastic bottle, it's her favourite toy (she likes the crackly sound they make when she grabs them).  Husband likes the Aldi ancient grains loaf and loves browsing their middle aisles.

Well, that was a bit chaotic

 😒

When husband went for his flu jab last Saturday, he was in and out within 2 or 3 minutes.  Having always had our flu jabs together in previous years, we were told we'd have to go on separate days at this new surgery, as they do it in age groups - over 65s one day, under 65s on a different day (the 2 age-related jabs have different constituents, apparently).  Hence, me being 64, I had to be in the u65s group.  I was given an appointment time, but yesterday morning I had a text from the surgery saying no need to stick to the actual time, I could go anytime after 3 pm.  So we duly went just after 3pm......only to find a big queue of about 20 people waiting outside, who'd all been sent the same text!  And loads more were arriving after me, so the car park was chockablock and getting more chaotic with each new arrival and departure.  Plus all the other people who were there to see GPs for appointments, or to collect prescriptions.  Chaos.

And then when I finally got into the jabbing room, the nurse, having asked my name and d.o.b., said "Oh!  You're on my little list to watch out for! 😱 But why are you down for the over 65s jab when you're only (only 😂😂) 64?".  I said I'd got no idea, I wasn't told anything, I was just given an appointment!  So she had to go off somewhere and check.  Turns out because my 65th birthday is next month, that puts me in the over 65 group for the 2024/25 winter flu expectation.  "So I could have come along with my husband on Saturday after all" I said....."Erm, yes, sorry about that!".  Ah well, it wasn't her fault, and at least we'll both be able to go at the same time next year.

Very strange weather yesterday, a mixture of bright sunshine interspersed with torrential downpours, and sometimes downpours whilst it was sunny.  But that's nothing - one of my lovely American blog readers, Brenda, lives in Florida on the west coast, near her son and family.  She emailed me yesterday to say they'd been told they must evacuate, as their area is likely to suffer a direct hit from Hurricane Milton, due to hit today - the message from the authorities was 'Evacuate or die'.  How absolutely terrifying.  Brenda, I hope you're safe along with your family, I'm thinking of you.  Please let us know when you can that you're safe.  Puts our little bit of rain in perspective!

It's turning a bit chilly, we've had the heating on a few times early morning and evening, just for an hour or so.  The heating is certainly efficient and soon warms the place up, we're glad about that.  I'm making a chicken mince and vegetable hotpot in the slow cooker today, it'll do us for a couple of days (we don't mind eating the same thing twice) and there'll be leftovers to freeze as I'll do a big potful.

We were all young once!

 Diabetic retinopathy screening done, all fine.  In fact they said that, as I've had no diabetic eye problems at all in the past 10 years, they'll now change me over to checks every 2 years instead of annually.  Unless I notice any problems, in which case I just have to ring up.  Also, unusually, my sight isn't as blurry as usual following the eye drops, which is good.  We're so lucky to have this little community hospital nearby, it's less than 10 mins away in the car, free parking, and waiting times are negligible - I was in and out in no time, as was husband when he went for his eye screening a couple of weeks ago.

My flu jab tomorrow at the GP surgery (husband's one last Saturday was super-efficient and quick), then his nerve conduction tests on his feet at the big hospital on Friday - that won't be as quick, and the parking fees there are astronomical, so thank goodness we don't have to pay at the little local hospital, kind of balances it out a bit.  Our covid jabs next week at the community hospital should also be quick, there was a steady stream of people in and out for them whilst I was there for the eye screening.

Been mostly sunny but windy so far today, although rain is forecast for this evening, along with a yellow warning for a thunderstorm....you wouldn't know it though with the sunshine and blue sky we have right now.

Had to pop into the supermarket for a couple of things after my eye screening - bad day and time to go (Mondays and Fridays are changeover days for the big Butlins), it was busy with loads of new tourists stocking up on snacks and booze before their check-in times.  I'd forgotten about that, or we wouldn't have gone.  The tourists bring a lot of business to the area, obviously, but they're all so blimmin noisy!  The Friday arrivals are the worst, it's all hen and stag parties come for the weekend, they seem to start their partying and celebrations as soon as they arrive, before they've even booked in, and continue all weekend, the town is definitely a no go area at weekends.  Ah well, I guess we were all young once! 😁

Roast dinner pie, dribbling (Betty not me!)

 Husband had his flu jab yesterday, he was in and out in about 2 minutes, he says his arm aches a bit today but other than that he's fine....mine is on Tuesday.  

We had the large cod from the chippy yesterday, with home cooked chips and peas.  I must say the cod is a proper treat, regardless of the price - great big plump moist flakes of cod, with the best bubbly crispy batter I've ever tasted.  It's a high carb meal so not good for me to have too often, but as a treat every few weeks it's lovely.  The frozen peas I cooked then drained and crushed with the potato masher, stirring in a spoonful of mint sauce and a big knob of butter - delish.  Betty enjoyed her bit of the fish and a couple of chips too.  Today we're having roast chicken with all the usual veg, I'm having a little bit of the chicken rather than my usual nut roast, just because I fancy it today.  I've done enough veggies and stuffing for leftovers to have for tomorrow's dinner, I shall use some of the remaining chicken with the chopped veg and stuffing to make a roast dinner pie of sorts, topped with mashed potato.  I'll prep it in the morning, ready to just pop in the oven to heat through later on.  I'm having my diabetic eye screening tomorrow afternoon, the drops they put in to dilate the pupils leave my eyesight very blurry for hours afterwards, so it'll be good to have dinner all prepped and ready.  The drops seem to affect my eyesight much longer than they do husband's, for some reason - his blurriness wears off after just a couple of hours, whereas it takes 4 or 5 hours with me.

Betty is currently asleep on my bed, gently snoring, with her head on my pillow.....I hope she's not dribbling! 😁  She does keep me lovely and warm through the night, like my own personal hot water bottle.  I do have to move her off me sometimes, she quite often lies with her head resting right across my lower legs - she's got a very heavy head!  And it cuts off my circulation 😂

I've got a free National Trust day pass which must be used by 18 Oct, I think I may have said that we're going to use it for Dunster Castle - we've walked round the grounds several times but only had a very brief look inside the Castle as we had Betty with us that time and dogs aren't allowed.  We may be able to go Wednesday this week, looking at our appointments on the calendar, otherwise it'll have to be next week.  It'll be weather-dependent too - although it'll be dry inside the Castle (hopefully!!), the car park is a fair distance from the Castle entrance - plus we want to walk through the grounds to the Watermill cafe for a cream tea afterwards, and we'd like to sit in their pretty tea garden which is next to the river.

Chucking it down with rain now after a few lovely sunny days, the rest of the week looks very mixed.  Ah well, it'll soon be Christmas! (and then Spring will be on the way, hooray!).  Oh, I did get all my bulbs planted up yesterday, pleased about that.  I think I'd like some more in pots though....

No regrets, takeaways, loads of medical appointments, bulbs

 Thank you all for your supportive comments and emails regarding us giving up the caravan.  We have no regrets whatsoever - either for getting it in the first place, or bringing it to an end.  We had some lovely times there and have nothing but happy memories of our stays, but equally we aren't unhappy about ending it - this year we'd had to make the effort to go, we weren't particularly eager.  As several of you have said, and we said it ourselves - it had served a purpose, one that is no longer necessary.  We both really love our little bungalow with the wonderful new kitchen and nice, easy maintenance garden, in this quiet pretty cul de sac, with nice neighbours....we're well looked after and everything in the way of shops and services is nearby.  I continue to wake up every morning and think how lucky we are.

For three days in a row now, including today, we've had bright warm sunshine - doesn't it make you feel good when it's warm and sunny?  I'm planting the Spring bulbs today - I've been saying I'll do it for about a week, it's about time I got round to it 😂.  Husband has requested an apple crumble so I'll make that today, it will be puds for him for 3 days, I'll have it once - I try not to eat much in the way of puddings or sweet stuff in general.  We're having fish and chips for a treat tonight - cod and chips from the chip shop (which are excellent I must say) now costs around £20, which I begrudge paying really.  I know the shop owners have rising costs and have to try and make a living too, so I totally understand - but £20 for one takeaway meal for the two of us is just too much, my frugal nature and upbringing means I feel guilty about paying it.  So as a much cheaper compromise, I'm going to cook the chips and peas at home and husband will get one large battered cod (£8.50) from the shop - their large ones are so big they do us a good size portion each plus some for Betty as well - she loves fish.  I remember years ago when we were children, we had fish and chips and mushy peas every Friday, dad would get it on his way home from work, so it must have been a cheap meal back then as my parents didn't have a lot of money.

We took Betty to the groomer yesterday, so she's all soft and smelling lovely now and her claws have been clipped.  She sleeps all afternoon when we're back home, the excitement wears her out!

Husband's got his flu jab this afternoon, mine is next week.  I have my diabetic eye screening, husband has to go to the big main hospital to have nerve conduction tests on his feet....so 4 medical appointments in one week, all on different days and in different places....well, our flu jabs are both at the GP surgery but on different days, annoyingly.  The following week we have our covid jabs, but at least those are the same day/time/place.  Speaking of covid, we've noticed an increase recently in people wearing masks once more....I guess they're vulnerable and wanting to protect themselves.  I'd rather not wear a mask again (unless we're told we have to), but we will take sensible precautions.  Actually, I've never stopped trying to keep my distance from people in the supermarket (especially if they're coughing and sneezing!), and always wash my hands when we get home.

Strictly tonight, my favourite programme and my sister's too - she and I critique all the dances over WhatsApp, it's a lovely way of sharing our enjoyment together, even though we're over 100 miles apart.  

Right, I must get out and plant those bulbs!!

One era finished, a new one begins

 Well, it's done, we've given up the caravan.  I must say I'm relieved, in recent months it had become a bit of a millstone around my neck.  We've transferred ownership back to the site owner, as per site rules - whether or not we get any money back for it remains to be seen.  It depends what he does with it - sells it or scraps it (it's a very old van, 30+ years) - the site owner has recently sold a couple of vans of a similar age to ours, to new owners.  It would be nice to get some money back, but we're not banking on it.  We've had a few years of many, many breaks in it, made some very good friends, had some lovely and happy times there, so we have good memories, and that's more than enough.

We went to empty the van of all our personal possessions, we had to do it over 2 days (separate weeks to fit it in around medical appointments for both of us) as there was just too much stuff for one car load - we didn't take Betty either time as we needed all the space in the car.  On the 2nd day we gave the van a thorough clean and cleared all the pots in the garden of all the annual flowers, so left everything clean and tidy before leaving with a loaded car once more.  It did feel a bit sad leaving it for the last time, but the sense of relief was much stronger.

Yet again I was taken aback at the sheer amount of 'stuff' husband had accumulated in and outside the caravan, quite a bit of which I'd not seen before - he'd done his usual trick of acquiring other people's junk that they no longer wanted.  He's like a magpie - he claims all the bits of junk will come in useful, but rarely - if ever - actually does anything with them.  So again, just like last December when we were moving house, a lot of it went to the tip - 3 trips in all.  Still, it's done now, another job crossed off the list.

Another bonus is that we now have a supply of stuff from the caravan - kitchen equipment, crockery etc, husband's tools, towels and linens, a lovely DAB radio, etc etc - which will come in useful as replacements for our own home stuff, when needed.  It's currently stored in plastic lidded boxes in the car port (that car port is such a boon, we're so glad to have it).

Financially, it means we'll be a lot better off, which is a huge positive, it means I can put so much more into savings, and have money spare for things we want, or days out.  A short break away now and then in a cottage not far from home will likely feature too, depending on health.

Low spend month

 September was a very heavy spend month, what with one thing and another, including some unforeseen things, so this month I'm intending to be low spend (and how is it October already? 😕).  We've got plenty of food supplies in, having restocked following the kitchen refit, so I need to do a freezer inventory and meal plan, for as far as I can get through the month without having to go shopping again.  

We both have several medical appointments this month, so lots of car trips.  Husband has a bus pass, I don't though (not old enough yet!) and, although we live near a bus stop here, the buses aren't exactly really regular - or even reliable, there's often a shortage of drivers due to illness and insufficient back-up drivers, so buses do get cut out at short (or no) notice.  Judging by the complaints on the local social media pages, it's a regular occurrence, sadly.  It's better during the summer, they put more buses on to cope with tourist numbers, but that's come to an end now and there are far fewer buses around.  There aren't any buses that go near our GP surgery, although it's fairly easy to get to the local hospital (provided the bus runs!).  Husband has one appointment this month at the big general hospital in Taunton.....he could in theory get the bus there but it takes hours, apparently, as it goes a very meandering way to serve several villages.  So it'll have to be by car, we'll try and combine it with another few jobs - taking stuff to the tip or charity shop, or going to the library, e.g, to cut down on fuel.

From Thursday onwards the weather looks pretty good, dry with sunny spells, albeit cooler - well, it is Autumn after all - so we should be able to get out in the garden and tidy it up ready for winter.  I also want to plant all my new Spring bulbs in pots....although I could do that in the car port anyway if the weather is wet, it's more a question of time.  And motivation, if I'm honest.

Clocks go back this month, so an extra hour in bed.  Lighter in the mornings for a bit, but that doesn't seem to last long at all!